Isak Czervenatis
Edge columnist
The book Dark Life by Kat Falls takes place on an alternate Earth where massive earthquakes shook the world, majorly flooding countries. There are two kinds of people on that Earth, the ones who took shelter above the sea referred to as Topsiders, and the ones who chose to live undersea called the Dark Life, who adapted to the new way of life. Topsiders are fearful of those who live the Dark Life, believing the myth that they will gain a Dark Gift, which are mutations supposedly caused by living deep-sea. The main protagonists of the story are Ty, a teenage guy who lives the Dark Life, and Gemma, a Topsider girl of similar age who he finds in the wreckage of a blood-soaked submarine, looking for her older brother Richard with the submarine wrecked by a deep-sea gang by the name of the Seablite Gang. Ty and Gemma quickly form a bond, and search together for Richard.
The protagonists escape by the skin of their teeth, barely managing to evade the gang. They then head towards Trade Station, a trade hub. People are surprised at Ty’s shine (caused by living underwater for extended periods of time), making him uncomfortable. They then head down an elevator from the Surface Deck to the Service Deck, the area where the Benthic Territory are having a meeting, discussing the government halting shipments to their colony and forcing them to take out the Seablite Gang if they want the shipments, as the gang is robbing them. Ty’s father is glad that they are hanging out with fellow teenagers, something that doesn’t happen due to the small population of the town where they live, with no other people the same age as Ty.
This book deals with humanity as a whole and how people shift away from others with different lifestyles and appearances, with an example of this being the way in general of which Topsiders negatively act towards the people who live the Dark Life, and that lifestyle in itself going against what humans have traditionally done, even though it is the next step humanity needs to take.
Review
For what the book is, it’s very good. The only notable downside of the book that I found would be the ending, of which I considered quite lackluster, not having the same energy and personality as the rest of the book. Despite this, however, this has to be one of my favorite dystopian books I’ve read.
This is a good read for any dystopian novel enthusiast. Even with it being the author’s first book, it is as well-rounded as other similar titles such as The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Each of the characters are well thought out, each one having a unique personality and goals, Ty being an adventurous boy trying to make a living for themselves, or Gemma being a fearless girl down on her luck looking for her long-lost brother at any cost, and the story is well worth going through in its entirety.